Coke-oven-pusher control



sept. 24, 1929.

A. H CHALMERS COKE OVEN PUSHER CONTROL Filed June 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l /NVENTOR ATT RNEY Sept 24, 1929. A. H. cHALMERs 1,729,327

COKE OVEN PUSHER CONTROL Filed June 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y@ B w w g man i w K Y n n Il 'ns/l Lr r y Patented Sept. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT H. CHALMERS,

or FAIRvrEw, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA lCOKE-OVEN-]."USlHIE]R. CONTROL Application led June 5, 1928. Serial N o. 282,943.

practice, such electrical devices have beenextremely troublesome and their operation is seriously interfered with by the falling coke, the risin of the oven an the heat and dust on the pusher side to 'make it almost impossible to properly keep the electrical devices in operative condition. My invention aims to overcome these deficiencies of the prior practice and to provide an extremely simplied yet reliable means for preventing the actuation ofthe pusher ram until the operator on the discharge side of the oven is prepared to have the coke ejected. The invention will be fully apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be deiined with part-icularity in the ap'- pended claims. In the drawings` Fig. 1'1s an elevation partly in-transverse section showing a conventional form of coke oven and pusher machine equipped with control apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan of a portion of a battery of ovens, one oven chamber and part of another being shown in horizontal section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing certain of the main operating elements;

Fig. 4 is a plan of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail section of a control valve.

Referring in detail to the drawings, rep` resents a conventional type of coke oven structure as a whole which includes a plurality of oven chambers 12 which extend transversely from the pusher side 14 to the discharge side 16. The chambers 12 are closed on the pusher side by means of doors 18 and on the discharge side by means of similar doors 20. The usual form of larry charging car 22 travflames on the discharge side .38

Vof

els over the top of the oven structure and is adapted to charge the fuel to the oven chambers 12 through suitable openings 24.

The oven is heated in the usual manner and further description will be omitted as the heating apparatus and control therefor forms no part of the invention.

On the pusher side ofthe oven, a pusher machine indicated generally at 26 travels on a track 28 and is propelled by means of a motor 30 driven by current supplied from the conductor rails 32, the motor being connected by suitable cables p The' pusher machine 26 carries a pusher ram 40 of standard construction arranged to be actuated by a pusher motor 42 and suitable intermediate transmission mechanism of known construction not shown. The motor 42 is under control of a controller 44 and the supply current of the motor and controller from the conductor rails 32 through conductor cable 84 is under control of a switch indicated generally at 46 which is arranged to be actuated by means of compressed air as will hereinafter appear.

The pusher vmachine also carries a door lifting member 48 which is actuated by a motor 50 connected to a suitable controller 52. The member 48 carries mechanism of known construction including mechanically actuated hooks 54 adapted to engageextensions 56 on door 18. The hooks 54 are actuated by a motor 58 connected to a controller 60. By proper manipulation lof the controller 52 and controllerGO, the pusher machine operator can 34 and'36 with acontroller remove'the door 18 preparatory to actuation y ofthe pusher ram 40. The pusher machine is also provided with a levelling bar 49 adapted to be actuated by a motor 51 under control of controller 53.

It is of utmost importance that the pusher ram40 is only actuated after the door 20 on the discharge side 16 of the oven has been removed, otherwise, serious damage will be done to the coke oven structure. On the discharge side 16 of the oven structure, a known type of door operating machine 62 is provided which carries mechanism of known construction indicated at 64 for removing the doors 20.

In normal operation, the doors on opposite ends of any particular oven chamber 12 are removed and the load discharged. llt is customary to work on a regular operating schedule so that the ovens are pushed in a regular sequence but the adjacent ovens are J not pushed consecutively. Therefore, conof the pusher machine 26 removes the door 18 by means of the e door operating member 48 and Ihoolr` mechanism 54, it heilig understood that the doors 18 and 20 which are moved are intended to be those closing the opposite ends of the same oven chamber 12. The operator of the pusher machine 26 then causes the pusher machine to travel along on the tracks 28 a short distance in order` to align the pusher ram 40 with the oven chamber whose doors have just been removed. The ram 40 is then caused to travel forward through the oven chamber 12 so as to eject the coke which falls into a suitable car not shown.

The ram 40 is then returned to its retracted position and the doors 18 and 20 are.

replaced and the emptied oven chamber 12 is charged with coal by the larry car 22 through openings 24. This coal is levelled by means of the levelling bar 49 which opcrates through a suitable opening formed in they door 18. After a given oven chamber is thus worked, the respective operators of the pusher machine 26 and the door operating machine `62 are supposed to move their machines to the next oven on the pushing schedule and repeat the above described operation.

There is a chance, however, that the operator on thepulsherf machine may remove a door which "does not correspond with the oven door removed by vthe operator of the v machine/62 of the discharge side of the oven,

. the result that Ythe coke will bev pushed and the pusher operator not realizing the error may cause the ram 40 to travel with againstnan unremoved door 20. Such an error causes' serious damage because of the pressure'eXe'* don the oven structure by the powerful ram 40.

`Various'means,mostly electric, have been devised for vpreventing pushing of coke until after the door on the discharge side has been removed but such means in practical opera- 65. tion arereadily rendered inoperative or eX- 106 therein.

tremel ineicient by the eXtreme heat of the co re ovens or by accumulations of dust and the action of flame escaping from the oven structure. A My improved control apparatus includes rugged and reliable means whereby the operation of the ram 40 is under` control of the door machine operator located on the discharge side 16 of the oven structure.

My apparatus includes a cylinder 66 carried by the pusher machine and having therein a piston 68, the rod 70 of which is arranged to actuate the switch 46 having blades 72 which coact with switch contacts 74 and 76 connected, respectively, with the conductors 78 and 80 leading to the controller 44 and supply wires 34. A counterweighted ,bell-crank 82 pivoted at 84 has a pin slot connection 86 with a rod 88 also connected with piston 68. Normally, this weighted bell-crank tends to hold the switch blades 72 out of engagement with the contacts y74 and 76'. When fluid pressure is supplied to the cylinder 66, piston 68 is moved to the position indicated in Fig. 3 so as to engage the blades 72 with the contacts 74 and 76 and thus complete the cirfcuit between the current supply 34 and the- 102. On the discharge side of theoven, each pipe 102 is connected with a downwardly extending pipe 104 having a control valve Each controlva`lve 106 connects by means of a pipe 108 with a compressed air or other fluid pressure main 110.

rIihe main 110 extends longitudinally of the oven battery on the discharge side 16. Each control valve, 106 is a three-way valve having a plug 112 which when turned to the position of Fig. 5 will permit compressed air or other suitable fluid pressure to flow from pipe 110 to the connections described across the top of the oven by way of the pipes 102 and 96 to the cylinder 66 so as to move the piston 68 and switch blade 72 to the closed position of Fig. 3. When the control valve plug 112 of Fig. 5 is turned clockwisel through an angle of degrees, the counterweighted arm 82 will pull the blades 72 to the right and break the motor circuit and the air from cylinder 66 will be discharged through port 114 of the valve 106. With the chine opera-tor inadvertently actuating the ram to push the coke from an oven whose vdischarge door 20 has not been previously removed by the operator ofthe door removing machine 62.

It is clear that in normal operation, the pusher machine operator successively connects thecoupling member 92 of the flexible hose with the members 94 of t-he different ovens listed on the 'operating schedule, but if he makes an error and connectsthe hose to the wrong coupling 94, no damage can be done for the supply of Huid pressure foi actuating the .pusher ram will not be available, it -being remembered that the door machine operator on the discharge side 16 only makes the air supply available for the particular oven chamber which has had its door '2Q removed. If" desired, each control-valve 106 may be automatically actuated by the movement of the' .door machine or by the movement of the door actuating mechanism 64, thus making the operation practically foolproof.

While I have` described quite specifically the details of the embodiment of the invention illustrated, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto since various modifications and substitution of equivalents may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a Coke ovenstructure including av battery ofcoke ovens and a pusher machine' movable along one side thereof, a pusher ram and a motor for actuating it carried by said pusher machine, compressed air actuated switch for *controlling said motor and means located on the side of the structure opposite that on which the pusher machine moves for controlling the supply ofl compressed air to said switch.

2. The-combination with a coke oven struc- I ture including a battery/of coke ovens and. r a pusher machine movable along one side:

thereof, a pusher ram and a motor for actuating it carried by said pusher machine, a switch controlling the supply of current to said motor,'a cylinder and a fluid pressure actua-ted piston therein operatively connected with said switch' and a valve located on the side of the oven structure remote from `the pusher for controlling the supply of Huid pressure to said cylinder.

. D j 3. The combination wlth a coke oven structure including a battery of coke ovens and a pusher machine movable along one side thereof, a pusher ram and a motor for actuating it carried by said pusher machine, current supply means for said motor, a switch between said current supply means and said motor, a uid pressure actuated device for moving said switch and a valve for controlpling the supply`of Huid to said device from the side of the oven remote from the pusher machine. f

4. The combination with a coke oven structure including a battery of coke ovens and a pusher machine movable along one 'Side thereof, a pusher ram and a motor for actuating it carried by said pusher machine, current supply means for said motor land a switch between said current supply means and said motor, a fluid pressure actuated device operatively connected to said switch, a

fluid conduit extending across the oven strucmy name.

. ALBERT H. CIIALMERS. 

